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The Ballard Terminal Railroad (reporting mark BDTL), a short line terminal railroad in Seattle, Washington, USA's Ballard neighborhood, was formed in 1997 to operate trains on three miles of track on the north side of Salmon Bay. The spur had been abandoned earlier that year by the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway. BNSF had only three customers when it decided to abandon service in early 1997: the Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel Co., the Olsen Furniture Co., and Western Pioneer Shipping, a fish processing company. Western Pioneer was hit especially hard by the line's closing. To ensure continued service, the companies and other investors formed the Ballard Terminal Railroad, and it began operation early the next year with a 1940s-era locomotive formerly belonging to the Milwaukee Road.[1][2][3]
The Ballard Terminal Railroad runs from N.W. 40th Street and 6th Avenue N.W., just south of its Bright Street Yard and on the edge of Fremont, northwest toward Ballard proper. There, it passes the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and runs along Seaview Avenue N.W. to its Shilshole Yard, where it joins the BNSF mainline just north of N.W. 68th Street.[4][5] Most of the railroad was originally part of the Great Northern Railway's main line, moved to the west when the Lake Washington Ship Canal was built.
[edit] References
- ^ "SHIPPERS TEAM UP TO SAVE SHORT LINE", Railway Age 199 (6): 20, June 1998, "After Burlington Northern and Santa Fe shut down three miles of waterfront line along the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Ballard, Wash., last year, four shippers got together to form the Ballard Terminal Railroad Co. Last month, BRTC was awarded a $350,000 loan by the Washington State Department of Transportation for rehabilitation of the deteriorated track. When that is completed, the new short line will again move such commodities as fish, furniture, sand, cement, and lubrication oil."
- ^ Erb, George (August 22, 1997), "Local motives fuel fight to restore rail service.", Puget Sound Business Journal 18 (15): 4(1)
- ^ Erb, George (September 19, 1997), "Complex deal restores Ballard railroad", Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle, WA), http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/1997/09/22/story7.html
- ^ Bishop, Todd (Monday, April 14, 2003), "Burke-Gilman extension as seen by business. City says changes would be safe; rail workers not so sure", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://www.seattlepi.com/local/117406_trailtrain14.html
- ^ Schilperoort, Rebekah (November 20, 2007), "Missing trail link planned", Ballard News-Tribune, http://www.ballardnewstribune.com/2007/11/20/news/missing-trail-link-planned
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